IMPRESSIVE SHOWING AT PRO DAY FOR AZTECS WR BUTLER

Receiver draws big attention with effort showing his speed

Gavin Escobar improved on his 40-yard dash, Leon McFadden put on a stellar performance in defensive back drills and Ryan Katz showed a strong arm and no visible aftereffects of his ankle injury as he drilled passes at his receivers.

But of all the former Aztecs, Brice Butler arguably did the most to help his NFL stock at SDSU’s pro day on Tuesday.

Butler didn’t put up any flashy numbers last season — he finished with 24 receptions for 347 yards and four touchdowns. Though he played in a senior all-star game, he wasn’t invited to February’s NFL Combine.

Still, he vaulted himself onto the radar of NFL scouts on Tuesday with a 4.36-second 40-yard dash time. That time would have made him the third-fastest receiver at the Combine.

Butler also helped himself by putting his athleticism on full display with a 6.6 mark in the 3-cone drill, a 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump, and a 39-inch vertical — stats that would have landed him in the top three of all drills at the Combine.

In the receiver drills, his routes were crisp and garnered looks of approval from several of the onlooking scouts.

Not a bad show for the 26 NFL teams present.

“I feel like I had a really good day and I wowed some scouts today,” Butler said. “Before I came here, they were saying (I’d go in) the sixth or seventh round or not get drafted. But hopefully with my 40 and the way I weighed in and my measurables and how I can run routes and get in and out of cuts, it’ll get me up to get drafted period, or a mid-round guy.”

The Falcons, Saints, Bears, Chargers and Seahawks all showed interest in Butler.

The Seahawks could be a possible landing spot for Butler because head coach Pete Carroll knows him well from when he recruited the receiver out of high school as the head coach at USC.

“That whole staff (in Seattle) is almost like my old staff, even down to the strength trainers,” said Butler, who transferred to SDSU for his final year last spring after graduating early from USC. “Coach Carroll knows my worth. He went all the way out to Atlanta to recruit me, so I know he has high expectations of me.”

“The Seahawks guy was talking about me playing a little DB, at corner,” Butler said.

The receiver was surprised, but he told Seattle that he wouldn’t be opposed to switching positions if they saw potential in him as a cornerback.

“Because if you’re going to make me change my position, you obviously think I can do it,” said Butler, who hasn’t played defensive back since his senior year of high school, when he was asked to come into a game on defense to cover the opponent’s standout receiver.

“Our guys couldn’t stop him, so they threw me in there for a little bit,” Butler said. “My senior year, I was like a pinch DB. If they really needed it, they put me in.

After all, his father is former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Bobby Butler.

Escobar improves 40

Entering pro day, Escobar wanted to improve on the 4.84 40-yard dash he clocked at the Combine.

Mission accomplished.

After spending the last month working to refine his start, Escobar ran a 4.70 on Tuesday, managed 12 reps on the 225-pound bench press, and excelled in his position drills.

He talked to representatives from all the teams present, but met privately with a 49ers scout on Monday night and a Tampa Bay scout after the workout.

Katz back in action

In his first public performance since his ankle injury, Katz showed off his accuracy and velocity, slinging passes to Escobar, Butler and Dominique Sandifer.

He also put up 18 reps on the bench press but did not run the 40 or do any of the other combine drills.

“A lot of the guys asked me why I didn’t (run the 40) and I told them I’m about 90 percent right now. It’s only the four-and-a-half month mark,” Katz said. “It’s something I could have come out here and done, and I might have run like a 4.9. But that’s not what I want. I don’t want to get something that’s not my time.”

Katz elicited interest from the Saints, Chargers and Raiders, and said he’d be happy to run the 40 for any team in an individual workout if asked.

Notes

McFadden chose to let his Combine numbers stand and did not redo any of the combine drills except the vertical jump, where he once again managed 34.5 inches. He spoke with all the teams present but said the Chargers and Patriots showed the most interest.

• CB Josh Wade surpassed expectations with a 4.34 40 time, according to his agent.

• Other former Aztecs who worked out: OL Nik Embernate, OL Riley Gauld, Sandifer, K Chance Marden, RB Walter Kazee. Kazee did not do any running drills because he’s still rehabbing his torn ACL.

• Ten Hawaii players, five USD players and former Seton Hall basketball player Jervaughn Johnson also worked out for scouts.